The Drakeshaugh Dragon
by Northumbrian
Summary: Al Potter is a fearless and famous Auror. But sometimes he needs a little help from his daddy.
1. The Visitors

**1. The Visitors**

The trees stood still, silent and unmoving, as did the fine feathers of cloud in the azure sky above. No wind blew and Drakeshaugh Wood was unusually quiet. No leaves rustled, no creatures stirred. The only noise was the occasional snatch of birdsong.

Albus Potter crept cautiously through the undergrowth, slipping slowly across the sun-dappled floor of the forest. He was, he thought to himself, being as stealthy and silent as a shadow.

Al had almost reached the large conker tree when he heard the car approaching. The proud old horse chestnut stood straight and tall; it was close to the thick hedge which formed an impassable barrier between the track and Drakeshaugh The crackle of tyres on gravel and the purr of the engine were increasing in volume. Al rapidly clambered up the rough ladder and stepped onto the platform of planks.

Curling his hands into Omnioculars, Al watched the car as it flickered past on the other side of the hedge. This was it, they had arrived! A carload of Muggles were entering a magical area. They were entirely unaware of the dangers they faced. They must be protected, and who better to do it than the famous Auror, Al Potter.

Al turned and, ignoring the ladder he bravely jumped the four feet down from the tree house. He jumped sideways, falling into soft leaf mulch under the tree and rolling into the prickly undergrowth spewing from the unkempt hedge. As he pulled himself out from the brambles, he scratched himself on the thorns. He ignored these minor injuries, and reached into the waistband of his shorts for his wand.

It was broken in half! He must have snapped it when he had jumped and rolled into cover. Fortunately, he soon found another wand lying under the trees. Holding his new wand tightly he sprinted alongside the track, following the car to its destination.

The fearless Auror kept close to the dry stone wall as it curled around into the gravel courtyard. There was a narrow gap in the coping stones and, standing on tiptoe he peered through it. Al gazed out into the open area in front of his home, Drakeshaugh. The car had stopped and the unsuspecting occupants were already getting out. Al pressed closer to the wall and tried to listen to the conversation.

'Thank you so much for offering to look after the kids, Ginny. I've given them a lecture and told them to be on their very best behaviour,' Mrs Charlton said. She opened the hatchback and was reaching inside when Mr Charlton intervened.

'I'll take those, Jacqui,' Mike Charlton told his wife. 'I've no idea what you've packed, but it feels like Henry's overnight bag is full of bricks.'

'Henry!' Al heard his brother's shout echo across the courtyard. 'Come with me, I've been making a secret den, I'll show you! It's this way! Come _on_!'

Through the gap in the wall Al saw Henry look questioningly at his mummy. Mrs Charlton smiled and nodded. Henry dashed off after James.

'Oi!' Henry's dad shouted. 'Hold on a minute, sunshine … haven't you got anything else to say to your beloved parents before you go dashing off with James Potter?'

'ByeMamunDad. Seeyertermorra,' Henry shouted over his shoulder as he sprinted into the trees after James.

'Well!' Mr Charlton said. '_He's_ obviously going to miss us.'

Al continued to watch as Mrs Charlton picked up Annie and followed both Mr Charlton and his Mum into the house. Al was wondering where his Daddy was when a twig broke behind him. Auror Al Potter whirled around and raised his wand.

'_Stupefy_,' he shouted. His father staggered back against the tall old oak next to the wall and slid down it, head bend forwards.

'You got me, Al,' his dad told him, lifting his head and smiling. 'Fast reactions, well done, but we have visitors, we should go and say hello to them.'

Harry Potter held out his hand and smiled at his younger son. Al said nothing. He simply watched his father.

'What's the matter, Al? You wouldn't tell me at bath time last night. Was that because James was there, too?'

Al Potter nodded.

'James and Henry are a bit much for you when they get together, aren't they?' Daddy asked. Al nodded again, and his dad sighed sadly.

Al did not like Henry Charlton much, because whenever James was with Henry, James was horrible. Daddy said that James was just showing off, that he was trying to be clever in front of his Muggle friend. Daddy said that, really, James was being silly and not being clever at all. But all Al knew was that James was not nice when Henry was around. And Henry was going to be spending the night here.

'You've been crawling in the brambles again too, haven't you?' Harry asked.

Again, Al nodded.

'Don't worry, Al. You aren't in trouble.' His father smiled kindly, pulled out his wand and proceeded to heal Al's scratched arms and clean up his muddy t-shirt.

'There you are, all better,' Daddy said. 'Let's go and see Mr and Mrs Charlton, and Annie. Annie looked a little nervous. She's never been away from her mummy and daddy before; we'll need to be especially nice to her. Will you help me up, please?'

His father held out his hands and Al took them and pulled. It was sort of a game, Al knew. His Daddy could really get up by himself, but he often pretended to need Al's help. Daddy kept hold of Al's left hand and together they walked around the wall and towards the house.

'By the way,' Harry told Al in a whisper. 'Statute of Secrecy, remember! Do you want me to hide your wand for you?'

Al looked at the mud encrusted oak twig in his hand and threw it onto the ground.

'No, thanks, Daddy, I can easily find another one, the woods are full of them. I won't say nothing to the Muggles, I promise,' said Al earnestly.

'I know, Al, thank you,' Harry told his younger son. 'But, remember…'

'Don't call them Muggles,' said Al. 'I know, Daddy.'

'Good boy, and it's "I won't say _anything_", not "I won't say nothing". Don't pick up your brother's bad habits.'

* * *

><p>Harry Potter looked down at his younger son thoughtfully. Al was nowhere near as outgoing as his brother, which was a blessing in many ways. When Al found himself in trouble, it was usually because he'd been following James.<p>

James was certainly more adventurous and disruptive than Harry had ever been. Harry had worried that James was naughty and unruly, and Al well-behaved, but Ginny had assured him that James was normal and well behaved, and that Al was shy and quiet.

James had become firm friends with Henry Charlton on his first day at school. But Al's first term at a Muggle school had not been a great success. Al had not been going to school for long. He had started after Easter, attending for mornings only, but he still had no "best friend" and not even any close friends. Ginny worried about him.

Harry and Ginny discussed their children daily, or more accurately, nightly. The only time they had for private conversation was after the kids were in bed, when they were relaxing in each other's arms. Ginny was very worried about Al's lack of friends. Harry, who'd had no real friends until he was eleven, was less concerned than his wife. Al seemed happy enough in his own company and Harry recognised the make-believe games of a lonely little boy. He knew that he could do no more than encourage his son to make friends. Harry was, however, concerned that it was James who was preventing Al from making new friends. Harry knew all about that, too.

'He was playing in the woods, Ginny,' Harry told his wife as he walked into the kitchen of Drakeshaugh, still hand-in-hand with Al. He released his younger son and watched him stare silently at the new arrivals. Mike Charlton was placing two overnight bags on the large kitchen table.

The Charlton's were frequent visitors and the Potters were used to keeping various things (like the kids' toy broomsticks) hidden during their visits. Harry smiled to himself as Jacqui Charlton looked curiously around the kitchen. She always did, she did not understand how they could survive without electricity.

'Hello, Harry, hi, Al' said Mike Charlton. He pulled a silly face and waved to Al.

'Hello, Henry's dad,' Al said, waving back. Harry noticed Annie's face fall, and so, apparently, did Mike.

'Henry's dad?' said Mike slowly and carefully. 'If you want, Al, you can call me by my real name.' He lowered his voice to a mock whisper, making certain that he was speaking loudly enough for his daughter to hear. 'You can call me Annie's dad! Okay?'

'Okay, Annie's dad,' said Al smiling. Annie smiled too. Harry noted the effect on the little girl. That was a trick he would remember.

Harry watched as Al thrust his hands in his pockets and wandered over to talk to Annie and Lily. Mike Charlton followed, hunkered down, and made a fuss of his daughter and the two younger Potter children. Jacqui, meanwhile, was talking to Ginny. They were organising. Harry listened to their conversation, but simply let them get on with it.

'This is all of Henry's stuff, and this is Annie's, obviously,' said Jacqui. It was obvious. Henry's bag was camouflage greens and military-looking, Annies was pink and flowery.

'Henry will probably tell you that he's allowed to stay up until nine o'clock. He isn't. Bedtime is eight, and Annie goes half an hour before he does,' explained Jacqui. She looked around and made certain that Annie was not listening. 'Actually, you can get him to bed earlier, if you want. All that really matters to Henry is that he stays up later than his sister.'

'James is exactly the same,' Ginny said. 'Don't worry, Jacqui. They will be fine. It's only for one night. You and Mike go and enjoy yourselves at this wedding.'

Jacqui frowned, 'I'll do my best, but to be honest, I've never really got on with Mike's sister. At our wedding she got drunk and told me that Mike could have done a lot better. I don't think that she wanted me at her wedding. That's why she said "no children" on the invitation.'

Ginny nodded sympathetically.

'She probably thought that I would stay here to look after Henry and Annie while Mike drove down to York alone. I bet she was surprised when she got our RSVP. She knew that Mum and Dad are visiting my sister in New Zealand. She probably thought that I had no one else to ask. Anyway, thank you so much for looking after the kids, Ginny. You should have everything you need for the kids, I hope. There are three complete changes of clothes in Henry's bag and two in Annie's, just in case.'

'Thanks Jacqui. We'll probably need them for Henry, I'm afraid,' Ginny told her. 'James' "secret den" is in some tree roots next to Drakestone Burn. It's a little way downstream of the clearing where we had our picnic last month. I expect that they'll both come back wet and dirty, but they won't come to any harm. But it's a ireally/i secret den. It's so secret that I "really truly do not know" where it is, so I can't possibly have told you, okay?'

Jacqui smiled and nodded. 'If they come back wet and dirty it won't be a surprise. Henry will be fine with James, I know that.' She caught Ginny's eye and nodded towards her daughter, who was whispering to her father with trembling-lipped uncertainty. 'But, Annie is rather worried. She'll be sharing with Lily, won't she?'

'Yes,' Ginny confirmed. 'And Henry will be in with James. Unless they make too much noise, in which case we'll move James in with Al.'

'Does Lily have many soft toys? I restricted Annie to six, she'd have brought her entire collection of teddy bears if I'd let her.'

'Lily has dozens. She has five doting uncles, remember?' Ginny smiled. 'She will be fine, we'll look after her. Harry and I have decided to take the kids up to the Drake Stone for a picnic and then on to Harbottle Lough, if that's okay?'

'That's a good idea,' Jacqui smiled. 'Tire them out. It looks like you'll have a good day for it.'

'Come on Jacqui, it's time we were leaving,' Mike Charlton announced. 'Will you come and wave us off, little Annie?'

Annie's lower lip began to quiver and her eyes filled with tears.

'We can go an' wave at them from a tree house if you want Annie,' Al offered. 'We can wave here anrunanrun an get to a tree house 'fore they get there.'

'Bet you can't,' Mike said. 'Little girls can't run faster than a car.' Annie looked at Al, who nodded.

'Can!' Annie announced excitedly.

Mike Charlton looked to Harry for advice.

'Enjoy the wedding, Mike,' Harry said. 'And don't drive too fast.' He winked at Mike.

'If you can run faster than the car, I'll bring you a present back,' Mike told his daughter.

'Yaay!' said Annie, smiling excitedly. 'Bye, Mummy, Bye Daddy, see you tomorrow.'

Mike and Jacqui Charlton kissed their daughter, shouted 'Bye Henry,' into the woods and climbed into their car. Mike had just finished turning the car when James and Henry dashed into the gravel yard, just in time to join the others in waving to Mike and Jacqui.

As Mike drove through the gate and turned onto the track which led to the road, Harry said, 'Go.'

Al and Annie ran around the gable of the house and into the woods. As Harry scooped up Lily and followed he noticed that Mike had slowed his car to walking pace.

'What's happening,' James demanded.

'We're going to wave from the tree house,' said Ginny.

'This way,' James yelled, and Harry heard James and Henry approaching rapidly from behind. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Ginny striding along at the rear.

Thanks to Mike's slow driving they made it in plenty of time and, standing on the platform outside the tree house they all waved as Mike and Jacqui drove past and began their long journey south to York.


	2. The Drakestone

**2. The Drakestone**

Annie Charlton's hands, both of which had been waving excitedly, fell to her side and the little girl slumped. A sombre blanket of silence fell over all five children as the Charlton's car crested the ridge and disappeared from sight. Even Henry was uncharacteristically quiet as realisation struck; his parents had gone. James was watching Henry, and Al was staring at Annie. Harry watched his children as all three put themselves in the Charlton children's place.

'What you wanna do now, Annie?' asked Al quietly. Harry saw Annie's bottom lip begin to tremble.

Lily looked up hopefully at her parents, obviously hoping that they would do something to prevent the tears from flowing.

'We thought that we could go off on an adventure. Would you like that?' asked Ginny. Annie looked uncertain, but Henry's eyes widened, Al smiled, and Lily jumped and bounced.

'Wiwwit be siting, Mummy?' Lily squeaked.

'Very exciting, Lily,' Ginny promised. 'I have packed us with plenty of provisions and we are going on an expedition into uncharted territory.'

'We're going to the Drake Stone, aren't we?' asked James, sounding bored. Harry caught James' eyes and narrowed his brows, halting his eldest son's next comment.

'Yes, James, we are, and we're going to the Lake, too.' Harry squatted down next to Henry and pointed through a gap in the foliage to the huge boulder standing on the ridge. 'Have you ever been up to the stone, Henry?' asked Harry.

'No,' said Henry.

'Would you like to go and see the stone?' asked Harry.

'Yes, please,' the youngster replied.

James, whom Harry was certain had been busily making other plans, accepted his friend's decision with good grace.

'Good, then we'll go back to the house and organise our expedition,' announced Ginny. 'We'll need porters to carry our provisions and scouts to lead the way, and…'

Henry jumped, waved and shouted, 'Me.'

'Daddy-daddy me'n Henry'll be scouts!' announced James, immediately catching his friend's excitement. 'We'll go ahead and keep you safe from dragons 'n trolls. We might have to fight some.' He paused and looked at his friend for confirmation. Henry nodded in agreement. James's nose and forehead crinkled and creased as he thought. 'We'll probly, defnly have to fight somefing. We'll need swords, magical swords,' he announced.

'An' guns,' Henry added.

'Wan's is better,' said Lily knowledgeably. Fortunately Henry ignored her. Al stood in silence, watching James and Henry with a wary eye.

'And we'll need an expedition leader,' said Harry.

'Me,' volunteered Al. James looked like he would argue.

'The expedition leader will have to stay with the main party, Al,' said Harry. James was immediately happy to remain a scout.

Chattering excitedly, the Potter children and their guests trooped back through the woods to Drakeshaugh. Ginny took the lead and Harry brought up the rear, watching the kids closely. James and Henry each picked up a long stick as they wandered through the woods. When James waved his stick experimentally close to the back of Al's head, Harry cleared his throat. James took one look at his father's face and immediately put on what he obviously believed was an innocent expression.

Attempting nonchalance, James began to use the branch as a walking stick. He looked back at his father with a gaze that tried to say "it was always a walking stick, never a sword, and anyway even if it was a sword, I wouldn't poke Al". It was a good attempt, unfortunately he was unable to disguise the addendum: "at least, not while you're watching".

The rucksacks were already packed and waiting on the kitchen table. Because of the presence of two Muggles on the expedition, Ginny had used rucksacks which did not have Undetectable Extension Charms on them.

Expedition leader Al Potter took his job seriously. He checked up on the provisions, lifted one of the bags experimentally, discovered how heavy it was, and sensibly decided that the porters would be Mummy and Daddy. Harry and Ginny exchanged a smile.

The group set off immediately, with Ginny leading the way. Harry spent some time locking and magically securing their house. By the time he'd finished the rest of his family, and their guests, were some way up the track.

It did not take Harry long to catch them, five small children did not walk quickly. They had stopped and were staring intently at the ground when Harry joined the group. A toad walking purposefully across the Forestry Commission track was the cause. Al, Lily and Annie were fascinated. James and Henry pretended disinterest, talking loudly about being bored. For all their talk, they did not take their eyes off the creature until it hopped into the overgrown roadside ditch and disappeared into the undergrowth.

They continued to stroll up the track for about half a mile before taking a narrow path leading north-west, away from the woods and directly towards the stone. Lily grabbed Ginny's hand and began skipping and jumping. She usually did when walking on the soft and spongy peat. It was a good walk for the children; their destination was always visible on the horizon and it was almost impossible to get lost on the moorland.

Once off the track, the scouts strode ahead. James knew where he was going and he led Henry along the rough path. The two boys were soon well ahead of the main party and chattering happily to each other.

The main group were slowed by Lily, who insisted on walking and stopping to look at flowers and butterflies. However, by the time they began the final, steeper, rock strewn ascent to the stone Lily was beginning to flag. The moment she began to complain about the climb Harry lifted his daughter onto his shoulders. Lily grabbed his hair painfully tightly in order to steady herself, but Harry didn't complain.

As they continued up the bracken-clad hillside Harry kept a careful watch on the distant figures of James and Henry, as well as on Annie and Al. The two scouts were taller than the bracken, but the younger children were not. There were a few instances when both Al and Annie were lost from view.

About halfway up the hill the main party was forced to stop and search when Annie vanished into the green. A few moments of frantic shouting were brought to an end when Annie jumped to her feet from her hiding place among the ferns and shouted, 'Boo!' She giggled at their expressions.

'At least she's happy,' Ginny observed, laughing in relief.

After that incident, the expedition leader, at the suggestion of his mother, decided to keep a careful eye on his party. Ginny and Harry, with Lily still on his shoulders, kept to the rear. Al and Annie, hand in hand, trudged up the hill in front of them, chattering happily about toys and "'speditions" and "'ventures". When Ginny's hand sought Harry's, he took it happily and squeezed.

'I think that Annie's going to be okay,' said Ginny quietly. 'I was a little worried.'

'Al will look after her,' said Harry. 'I think that he likes to help people, he wants to be wanted, to be needed.'

Ginny rested her head on Harry's shoulder for a moment. She said nothing, but squeezed his hand tightly and put gentle pressure on the knuckle of his middle finger with her thumb, their silent signal for "yes", or "I agree". She then ran her thumb across all four knuckles in a gesture which meant, depending on circumstances, "I love you", or "you big softy". In this case, Harry knew it meant both.

There was a sudden yell from ahead. Harry looked towards the noise and his initial worry immediately vanished. The two scouts were involved in a furious battle with some imaginary opponents. Both boys were shouting war-cries and bits of bracken were flying into the air. The multi-purpose branches James and Henry had been using as walking sticks had become wildly waving swords.

The battle against whatever creatures existed in James and Henry's minds was a long one and the main party caught them up. The two panting boys stood proudly side-by-side in an area of trampled and broken ferns.

'Look at Al,' Ginny whispered to her husband. Harry did so, and realised that Al was still holding Annie's hand. James and Henry had noticed too.

'Al's gotta girlfriend,' said James smugly.

'They're holding hands, James,' Ginny said. 'You and Henry hold hands when you go on school trips.'

'That's 'cos Miss says we gotta. And anyway, Henry's a _boy_,' explained James, using a logic which was difficult for most people who'd passed puberty to understand.

'What's been happening here?' asked Harry, indicating the flattened bracken and moving the conversation onto safer ground.

"We've just killed a giant!' James announced. 'We saved you all.'

'Well done, James,' Harry congratulated his son. 'It looks like it was a hard fight.'

'It was,' Henry announced. 'The giant was even biggerer than that rock.' He pointed at the Drake Stone, which was now only a few hundred yards away.

''Twas the biggerest giant ever!' James confirmed.

'Really?' said Harry, sounding impressed. 'We're almost at the Drake Stone, do you think that we should stop for a drink, and maybe some chocolate, when we get there?'

'Yes,' said Al firmly. 'And I think that we should race to the stone.'

'The first one to touch the Stone gets the first piece of chocolate,' suggested Ginny. 'Wait!' she added when James and Henry turned to run. 'Not until I say that you can go.'

'Down, please, Daddy,' demanded Lily urgently. Harry gratefully obliged. Lily wasn't heavy, but Lily plus a laden rucksack was rather uncomfortable on the neck, and her firm grip on his hair was painful on the scalp.

'You can each go when I tell you, and not before!' ordered Ginny.

'Lily, go!' she said. Lily scampered forwards. Ginny allowed her to get some distance away before saying 'Annie, go!' Annie immediately set off.

'Al, go!' Al too, followed.

James and Henry were inching forward impatiently, watching for Ginny's signal.

'Last two, go!' Ginny finally told them. They dropped their sticks and sprinted towards the stone.

Harry was impressed by Ginny's handicapping skill. The gaps were closing and he was certain that it would be a very close race. It would have been if Lily hadn't looked over her shoulder to see how far behind the others were, tripped, and fallen heavily.

Even before Lily's cries reached them Ginny had reacted. It seemed to Harry that she started moving the moment Lily began to fall. She shrugged off her rucksack and begun to sprint rapidly up the hill.

Harry picked up his wife's discarded rucksack and trotted behind her. Annie reached Lily first and Harry watched the little girl stop to comfort his daughter. Al stopped too, and to Harry's surprise, so did James. This made Henry the clear, but slightly embarrassed, winner in what had suddenly become a one-child race.

By the time Harry reached the group Lily was in her mother's arms and her heart-rending cries had turned into muted sobs. Henry was staring back at the group from the Drake Stone and wondering whether to return to join the others.

'Are you all right, Lily?' Harry asked, kissing his daughter on the top of her head. Lily shook her head and tearfully showed her father her grazed and bloody palms and knee. Harry bent forwards and kissed them.

'Blood,' she sobbed.

'Mummy will soon mend your hands and knee, Lily,' said Harry. Ginny nodded meaningfully towards Annie. Harry reluctantly left his daughter in the care of his wife and led the other children up to the rock. He had handed a piece of chocolate to race winner Henry and was breaking off sections of the slab to give to the other children when Ginny and Lily arrived.

'Look,' said Lily, holding out her clean and uninjured hands and pointing to her no longer skinned knee. 'Mummy magicked them better.'

'Wow,' Henry observed. 'Your mam's better at magicking things better than mine is, James. My mam needs to use a sticky plaster.'

'I'm sure your mum is very good at it, really, Henry,' said Harry.

Henry shrugged dismissively. 'No,' he said with certainty. 'That's like real magic.'

Al was staring up at the huge boulder. 'Why is it called the Drake Stone, Daddy?' he asked.

'Well,' Harry began, grateful for the distraction of Al's question. 'Drake is another word for dragon, and a long time ago…'

'Daddy, I want a Wonsuponatime story!' Lily said firmly.

'Now?' Harry asked.

Lily narrowed her brows determinedly and nodded. 'Now,' she confirmed.

'Okay,' Harry agreed.

'Good,' Lily was satisfied. 'Come here, boys, Daddy's going to tell us a new story,' she ordered. Lily sat down with her back against the Drake Stone. Annie sat next to her, and the three boys sat on rocks. Harry looked at the expectant faces and wondered how Lily did it. Her brothers simply did as they were told. He was no better, he knew that; Lily could wrap him around her little finger.

'The land of Wonsuponatime is a magical place which lives just next to our world and…' he looked at Ginny who simply shrugged. He was on his own. Harry's daughter liked new stories, tales she'd never heard before. This often required Harry to extemporise. He thought desperately for a dragon story.

'And?' Lily demanded.

'And, are you sitting comfortably?' asked Harry, playing for time.

'Yes,' five voices replied. Harry looked at the eager faces staring up at him.

'Then I'll begin,' said Harry. 'A long time ago, a mummy dragon was looking for somewhere to lay her eggs.'

'Eggs?' asked Annie uncertainly.

'Dragons lay eggs, just like chickens,' Harry explained.

'And that's where the resemblance ends,' observed Ginny, the corners of her eyes creasing as the smiled at her husband.

'Do you want to tell this story?' Harry asked her. She laughed and shook her head.

'Then don't interrupt. The dragon was flying down this very valley when she saw the Drake Stone, except of course, in those days, it was just called the stone. The dragon landed on top of the stone. The top is very flat and only very brave people can climb onto it.'

'I wanna climb it!' James announced.

'Me too,' said Henry.

'When I finish the story,' Harry promised, cursing himself for his foolish comment. At least he knew that climbing the stone wasn't too difficult.

'Well, the dragon decided that the stone would be a good place to make a nest, so she…' Harry was suddenly inspired. '…She flew down to Drakeshaugh Wood and pulled the branches from the top of a huge oak tree to make herself a nest. The tree was old and hollow and she pulled and pulled so hard that the tree cracked and fell.'

Lily jumped up excitedly. 'Izzat the broken hollow tree next to the stream?' she asked.

'It is, Lily. What a clever girl you are,' Harry told her. 'Well once she'd made her nest, the dragon…'

'What's she called?' asked Lily.

'Dolores,' Harry told her, surprising himself and making Ginny snort with laughter at the name that popped instantly into his head. 'So, once Dolores had made her nest she laid six eggs and she sat on them, waiting for them to hatch. What she didn't notice, however, was that one of the eggs was not green, like most dragon eggs, but gold. A wizard was flying past on his broomstick…'

'Wizards don't fly on broomsticks,' interrupted Annie knowledgeably. 'That's witches.'

James was about to protest, but Harry silenced him with a warning glance.

'In the land of Wonsuponatime wizards fly on broomsticks too, Annie,' Harry told her. Annie wrinkled her nose and rolled her eyes at such a foolish idea. 'Well, this wizard decided to steal the egg, but he was a cowardly wizard … his name was Zacharius … so he decided to have a competition. He invited three wizards and a witch to try to steal the egg from the dragon.'

'What were _they_ called?' challenged James. He was beginning to get wise to these stories, Harry realised.

'Well, the wizards were called Victor and Cedric and, er…'

'That's not fair,' Annie interrupted. 'It should have been two witches and two wizards.'

'My mistake,' Harry told her. 'It _was_ two witches and two wizards. The witches were called, er, Flower, and … Jennifer.'

'What did they look like, were they all old and ugly?' Annie asked.

'Victor had a big nose and walked like a duck, but a lot of people thought that Cedric was very good looking,' Harry told her. 'Flower was tall and slim and had long blonde hair and a lot of people thought that she was very beautiful indeed,' Harry said, 'But although Jennifer was not so tall, she had hair which was as red as a summer sunset, and she was the most beautiful witch who ever lived.'

Ginny winked at him.

'Like Mummy,' Lily observed.

'Exactly like Mummy,' Harry said. 'And like you, too, Lily.'

James snorted in disgust.

'Except Mummy is nice, she'd never steal a mummy dragon's egg,' added Lily. Al nodded his agreement and Harry saw his story collapsing before his eyes.

He watched the children carefully. He'd talked himself into a corner, he suddenly realised. James and Henry seemed to be expecting a huge fight against the dragon. But Al, Annie and Lily obviously regarded the egg-thieves as the bad-guys in this story. His plan to use the Triwizard Tournament fell apart. Lily would be unhappy if, because of Victor's spell, Dolores trampled on any of her eggs.

'What's wrong, Daddy?' asked Lily.

'Nothing,' he assured her as his story suddenly flipped in an unexpected direction.

'Old Zacharius gathered the witches and wizards together, and told them that he was going to test them, to find out which was the bravest, boldest and cleverest witch or wizard in the world. He brought the four to this valley and they stood over there, on that ridge, watching Dolores in her nest.' Harry pointed to Harbottle Crag.

'But, the four had tricked Zacharius. Every witch and wizard in the land knew that he was both greedy and cowardly and when he told them what he wanted them to do, they simply laughed. "Stealing eggs is a terrible thing," said Jennifer. "We are here to protect the nest," said Cedric.

'Zacharius was very angry. Despite his cowardice, he was a powerful wizard and with a wave of his wand he caused a huge explosion. "BOOM",' Harry shouted suddenly. The children all jumped.

'The explosion knocked the other witches and wizards off their feet, and the hole it created began to fill with water. And that's how Harbottle Lough was created,' explained Harry, pleased with himself.

'You said they were standing on the ridge, Daddy,' said Al.

'They moved, I forgot, to tell you,' said Harry hastily. He was deflated by the observation. Storytelling wasn't easy, everyone was a critic, looking to pick up on every slip. Pleasing his entire audience was becoming more difficult the older they got. He'd simply have to try harder. James and Henry were leaning forward, eager for the action to start and they were unhappy at Al's interruption.

'Were they blown up into little tiny bits?' James asked. He seemed to relish the thought.

'Smotheroons,' said Henry knowledgeably. Harry recognised one of Mike Charlton's words.

'Smithereens,' Harry corrected.

'That just means tiny little bits,' he told the younger children. 'But no, they weren't. Cedric was thrown onto the air by the explosion and he hit his head when he landed. He was knocked out. Flower's robes were set on fire and she was forced to conjure up some water to put them out.

'Zacharius jumped onto his broom and flew into the air. Victor and Jennifer leapt onto their brooms and gave chase. They zoomed back and forth, up and down the valley, until Zacharius conjured a brick wall in mid-air. Jennifer dodged it, but Victor crashed into it and fell from his broom.

'A brick wall in mid-air is silly,' said Henry.

'Well, that's what happened,' said Harry, smiling. 'Luckily, Victor fell into a big muddy puddle, so although he was a bit smelly, he wasn't hurt. Meanwhile, the dragon—Dolores—had flown into the air to find out why all of these witches and wizards where zooming about over her nest. Zacharius saw his chance and he swooped down to the nest and grabbed the golden egg.' Harry watched as Lily and Annie opened their eyes in horror.

'But the egg was big, and heavy, and slippery, so Zacharius couldn't keep hold of it. He dropped the egg, and it was falling toward some rocks, where it was certain to get broken. Jennifer put her broom into a dangerously steep dive and just managed to catch the egg before it hit the rocks and broke. She took it back to Dolores nest and put it with the other eggs.

'Meanwhile, Dolores was very angry with the wizard who had tried to steal her egg. She chased after him and with a "RAAARGHH" she breathed fire and smoke at him. When the smoke cleared, Zacharius was nowhere to be seen. He'd been turned into dust.

'Good,' said Lily, nodding approvingly.

And so Dolores settled back onto her nest ant the witches and wizards guarded it until the baby dragons hatched. And that's the end of the story,' Harry concluded.

'I think that there should've been more fighting,' said Henry.

'I don't like fighting,' said Annie, folding her arms and glaring at her brother. He stuck his tongue out at her.

'Any more of that, Henry, and you won't be allowed to climb the stone,' said Ginny.

'Let's climb it now,' said James.


	3. The Dragon

**3. The Dragon**

'I can't, Daddy,' Al sobbed.

Harry knelt on the rough stone surface, ignored the rock digging painfully into his left knee, and hugged his younger son. 'You can, Al,' he assured him. 'You climbed up, so you must be able to climb down.'

'Can't!' Al shook his head sorrowfully.

'Al's stuck, Al's stuck. Al is a sissy,' James began to chant.

Making certain that Al wasn't going to move, Harry stood, stepped angrily toward the edge of the Drakestone, and looked over. It took him only a second; even so, by the time he reached the edge, James had already been silenced.

At the base of the stone, Ginny was crouched down and talking quietly but firmly to their eldest son. James's head was down and Harry could tell from the slope of his shoulders that James was being given a very stern talking to. While Ginny was busy, Harry glanced back at Al, whose shoulders still shook as he sobbed silently. When he returned his gaze to Ginny she sensed his presence and looked up.

'Al and I are going to enjoy the view for a while,' said Harry. 'You set off for Harbottle Lough and we'll catch up later.'

'Okay,' Ginny said. Her voice was matter-of-fact, but her eyes urgently asked for assurance that Al would be all right. Harry gave reassuring nod and left Ginny to organise the expedition.

'I'll leave your rucksack here, Harry,' Ginny called.

'Thanks,' said Harry as he returned to a still unhappy Al.

Al was sitting on the centre of the stone, facing away from the lake, and his family. He was staring out over the valley toward Harbottle village, which was only about a mile away.

'Can you see the castle ruins, Al?' Harry asked, trying to ignore his son's tears. Unlike James and Lily, Al hated to be fussed over when he was upset.

Al wiped his eyes and nose on his sleeve and nodded silently. Harry tried again.

'I've told Mummy to go on ahead of us. I hope that's okay. I should have asked you first, you're the expedition leader, after all,' said Harry apologetically.

He sat down next to his son and gazed out over the rolling green landscape. 'You can see for miles and miles from up here, can't you?'

'Yes,' Al whispered.

Harry risked a hug and Al smiled wetly. Harry pulled out his handkerchief and dried Al's red and blotchy face.

'Blow,' said Harry, inching Al's nose in the handkerchief. Al noisily obliged.

'Better?' asked Harry.

'A bit,' said Al. His face was anxious and his posture tense, so Harry decided to continue the conversation.

'Look at the castle; it's just a few broken bits of wall. There isn't much left of it, is there?' Harry asked.

'No,' Al said. They pondered the view in silence. Harry waited patiently.

'Was it bashed up in a big battle, Daddy?' Al asked after a few minutes.

'I could tell you a story, like the story I told about the Drakestone, or I could tell you the truth, Al,' said Harry. 'Which do you want?'

'I like stories,' said Al thoughtfully. 'But, what really happened?'

'You're a sensible boy.' Harry smiled at his son. He placed a hand on Al's shoulder and applied a gentle, congratulatory pressure before shuffling sideways to better see his son.

'The castle is hundreds of years old. More than eight hundred, I think,' Harry began. It was built to keep the Scots out of England. It didn't work. They call this area the Scottish Marches, or the Middle Marches; sometimes it was English and sometimes it was Scottish. For hundreds of years, the castle was important, sometimes to the English, sometimes to the Scots. But, eventually we all had the same king, and the castle was no longer needed. It was abandoned. It was cold, ugly and old-fashioned, and no one lived there anymore; it started to fall down.'

'It just fell down?' Al sounded disappointed.

'Not exactly, Al. As I said, it was old, and nobody wanted to live there, but look again. Can you see any bits of fallen down wall?' Harry watched his son stare thoughtfully at the ruins.

'There's no piles of stones,' Al observed. 'Where did all the stones go, Daddy?'

'Look at the houses in the valley, Al; look at Drakeshaugh. They are all made of stone. Building stone is very difficult to get. People dig it from the ground, it's called quarrying. They dig a hole and chip big lumps of stone out of the ground. But…' Harry stopped mid sentence and looked down at his son hopefully. He watched Al's jaw take a thoughtful set. Al's nose wrinkled and his forehead creased as the information was processed.

'Or they take the stones from the castle, because they're just lying there and nobody wants them,' suggested Al.

'Clever boy,' said Harry. 'That's exactly right. Why bother digging for stone or buying it, if there is big lumps of it lying in a field? There is a lot of good solid stone in an old castle, so the locals started to take it. Your Aunt Luna thinks that most of the big corner-stones—she called them the quoins—at Drakeshaugh were taken from the castle. A lot of the other old farmhouses are built with castle-stones, too. Harbottle castle might be an old and broken ruin, but it's nice to think that its children are scattered up and down the valley, still keeping the rain from people's heads.' Harry looked down at Al, who was smiling at the image. Now that Al was calm, he could proceed with his plan.

'I've still got a little bit of chocolate left, would you like to share it with me?' Harry broke the last of the bar in two and gave Al the larger piece.

They looked out over the valley as they ate.

'So, Drakeshaugh is a sort of baby castle,' said Al thoughtfully.

'It is. It's certainly our castle, Al, our home. If stones could talk, Drakeshaugh could tell us some exciting stories, I'm sure,' Harry gently squeezed Al's shoulder again, turned around and looked at the little group marching toward Harbottle Lough. 'We'd better get down, Al. If we don't, then James will get to the pool before us. Will you help me get down?'

Al's bottom lip began to tremble once again. 'I can't, Daddy.'

'Sometimes it's best to work as a team, Al. Aurors work as a team, they help each other and they try to keep each other safe. If we're going to get down we need to work as a team. I'll help you, if you'll help me. It will be two Aurors together.'

Al's face fell and he looked up at his father with watery eyes.

'I'm not an Auror, Daddy,' confessed Al. 'That's just a game I play. I'm really only a little boy.'

'You i_are_/i an Auror, Al. You're five years old, so you can be an Auror or an Unspeakable, a Quidditch star or a professor, a dragon-tamer or a train driver. When you're five you can be anything and anyone.' Harry spoke with reassuring confidence. 'I was a little boy too, a long time ago, and I used to dream of being lots of things. But, I'll tell you a secret. One thing which I never, ever, dreamed about being is my favourite job in the world. Do you know what that is?'

'Being an Auror,' said Al wisely.

Harry shook his head in disagreement and watched as Al's certainty gave way to confusion. 'You're right, I never dreamed about being an Auror. But that's not the job I'm thinking about. Shall I tell you what it is?'

Al stared curiously at his father and nodded his head.

'It's the best job in the world,' Harry put his arm around Al and hugged him. 'It's being a daddy for you and James and Lily. It's a very important job; I have to make sure that you are all safe and happy. Sometimes I have to go to the Ministry and do my other job, but even when I'm being an Auror I'm still trying to make sure that you are safe and happy.' He stood up, grabbed Al's hands, and pulled the little boy to his feet.

'Let's wave to the others,' Harry suggested, taking a step closer to the edge. Al followed. Ginny, Lily and Annie were moving slowly toward the distant water. James and Henry were already some distance ahead of them. Al and Harry shouted and waved and the three girls waved back.

Harry looked down. 'Oh,' he said. 'It does look difficult, doesn't it? Will you help me, Al?'

'But…' Al began.

Harry didn't wait for Al to formulate an argument. He turned, faced his son, and slowly dropped one foot over the edge.

'Do you think that my foot is safe there, Al?' he asked.

Al peered cautiously over the edge. 'Yes,' he whispered.

Harry took his other foot from the top of the stone.

'And there?' he asked.

'Yes,' said Al quietly.

Harry took two more steps down the rock, consulting Al at every step.

'Now,' he said. 'If you turn around, you can come between my arms, and I can help you. Okay?'

Al stared into Harry's eyes and nodded warily. Harry returned the gaze, staring into bright green, and noticing unshed tears in the corners. Al turned and began his descent.

'Is my foot all right, Daddy?' he asked.

'It's fine, Al,' Harry assured him.

'And now?'

'Yes, Al, you're doing fine,' said Harry.

As they slowly descended, each checking the other's hand and footholds, Al's confidence increased. By the time they were half way down his fears were forgotten and they soon reached the foot of the stone.

'Well done, Al,' said Harry. 'You did it.'

'Thanks, Daddy,' Al said. Harry crouched down, hugged him, and ruffled his already untidy hair. Al returned the hug.

'You're welcome, Al,' Harry whispered into his son's ear. 'I was just doing my job, remember.'

'Best job in the world,' Al nodded wisely.

'Come on, it's time for the expedition leader and his junior porter to catch up to his expedition,' suggested Harry. He picked up the rucksack and, hand-in-hand with Al he set off in rapid pursuit of the others.

Ginny had laid out a blanket on a low rock outcrop near the tarn and was busy unpacking the picnic lunch when Harry and Al arrived. James and Henry were paddling in the lake and Lily and Annie were picking buttercups.

'Al managed to climb down by himself,' said Harry when they reached Ginny.

'I know,' said Ginny. I was watching you both. 'Well done Al.'

* * *

><p>'Have you had a good day, Annie?' Ginny asked as she cleared the trifle bowls from the kitchen table.<p>

'Yes, thank you,' said Annie politely.

'What about you, Henry?' she asked.

'Yep,' Henry said shortly.

Harry looked along the table at the five children. They'd had a good afternoon at the Lough, the incident at the Drakestone was now long forgotten, and James and Henry had finally allowed Al to play with them. That, Harry thought, was the greatest achievement of the day.

'Well, if everyone has finished, you may all leave the table,' said Ginny. If you want to go out and play in the woods, that's fine; or you can stay inside to play.'

Henry and James looked at each other.

'Inside,' said James.

'Okay,' Henry agreed. 'C'mon, Al.'

The three boys ran from the kitchen and Harry heard them thumping heavily upstairs to the converted barn which formed their huge living room.

'I've no idea how such small people can make such big noises,' observed Harry.

'It's a boy thing,' said Ginny. 'Girls are so much more dainty.'

'My gonna show Annie the tree what Dolores the dragon pulled up,' Lily announced.

'I'm going to show Annie the tree Dolores the dragon pulled up,' Ginny corrected. 'Off you go, then, Lily. Don't get lost in the woods.'

Lily nodded, grabbed Annie's hand, and pulled the older girl outside. Harry listened to his daughter as she noisily slammed two doors.

'Very dainty,' Harry observed. Ginny chuckled. She was already at the sink, her wand in her hand and she began levitating the plates and dishes into the soapy water.

'I'm glad we don't have to do this by hand,' said Ginny.

Harry stepped up behind her, slid his hands around her waist and bent forward. Using his nose, he burrowed through her unbound hair until he found the nape of her neck, which he kissed.

'You could help me with the washing up, Harry,' Ginny suggested.

'I am helping,' he told her. 'I'm encouraging you to work quickly.'

Ginny set the pan scrub and dishcloth to work and turned to face her husband. Their lips didn't quite meet. Her warm breath was on his face and her soapy hands on his cheeks when the yells began. They parted instantly and ran in the direction of the noise.

The door from the kitchen led to a small hallway, from which a fright of eight stairs led through the thick stone farmhouse wall and into the adjacent barn which was their living room. Harry was up the stairs in two leaping strides. Henry and James stood at the bottom of the flight of stairs which led back through the old stone walls to the upper floor of the farmhouse, and to the bedrooms. At first glance the two friends seemed to be fighting each other using Al's stuffed toy dragon as a weapon.

Al stood motionless in the centre of the living room, next to the wooden train set which Harry had painstakingly set up that morning. Al's fists were clenched and he was staring furiously at the two older boys, who were making all of the noise.

Harry looked again at James and Henry. They weren't fighting with the dragon, he realised; they were fighting the dragon. The stuffed toy was biting Henry's arm and its furiously flapping wings and flailing tail were preventing James from pulling it from his friend. Harry was still taking in the impossible scene when Ginny acted.

'Calm down, Al,' she ordered, striding across to their younger son. 'And tell Dragon to let James go.'

'They were hurting her!' Al shouted, still staring at the stuffed toy dragon.

'And she's had her revenge, Al, call her off,' said Ginny firmly.

Al glanced at his mother and nodded. The moment he did so, the dragon fell to the floor and James and Henry both burst into tears.

'James, go to your room,' said Ginny forcefully. 'Henry, you go with him, please.' She stared at Harry and silently ordered him to follow the two boys.

'Try to find out what happened, Harry. I'll talk to Al,' she said quietly. Harry nodded and followed the boys up to James's bedroom.

As he strode along the corridor, Harry wondered what had happened, what the trigger had been. He'd witnessed several small bits of accidental magic from James, but nothing like this.

Al's dragon had been a first birthday present from his Uncle Charlie and it was now the only cuddly toy his younger son played with. The dragon, which Al had, with the originality of a one-year-old, named "Dragon" was over two feet long, soft, and fluffy. It couldn't fly, its mouth didn't even open, yet it had bitten Henry. The first thing to find out was: who started it?

'Are you two all right?' Harry asked as he walked into James's bright blue bedroom.

'Yes,' James nodded. Henry merely sobbed and shook.

The two boys were sitting side by side on the dark blue sofa bed where Henry would be sleeping. The sofa bed was underneath James's loft bed and was a recent purchase, bought especially for Henry's visit. Harry pulled up a low wooden stool but, before sitting on it, he ducked under the loft bed.

'How is your arm, Henry?' Harry asked.

Henry silently held out his arm and Harry saw the faint discolouration, the beginnings of a bruise.

'We will fix that for you soon,' Harry promised. 'You were supposed to be playing in the living room. What happened?'

The glance that the two boys exchanged was one of two criminals each desperately willing the other to come up with a story to get them off the hook.

'Dragon was in Al's room,' said Harry. He spoke with conviction, even though he was uncertain about the truth of his statement. The boy's worried expressions, however, proved that he was right.

'You didn't ask Al…' he began. He caught a puzzled look in Henry's eye and immediately corrected himself.

'You _did_ ask Al if you could play with Dragon, and he said no,' Harry continued. Once again the boys' expressions ensured that Harry knew he was on the right line. He tried not to smile. Perhaps being a daddy and being an Auror _was_ the same job, after all.

'But you went and got it anyway,' said Harry. He wondered what had happened next. Al had been _really_ angry, so angry that he'd done accidental magic and used the dragon to attack them.

'You were being horrible to Al and horrible to Dragon,' Harry guessed. James shook his head in an attempted denial, but guilt was written across Henry's face.

'It was me,' Henry admitted. 'James said no, that Al would be angry. He was!' Henry burst into tears.

'You shouldn't try to break other people's toys, Henry,' said Harry. He knelt in front of the boy and offered him a handkerchief. 'You wouldn't like it if someone broke your favourite toy, would you?'

Henry shook his head.

'If you're horrible to other people, Henry, they might be horrible back. That's how people get hurt,' said Harry. 'You need to think about other people's feelings a bit more, Henry. You're not a bad boy, if you were, you wouldn't be so upset.'

'Sorry,' Henry said.

'It isn't me you should be saying sorry to, is it?' Harry asked.

Henry shook his head. 'How did Al make the dragon fly?' he asked. 'And bite?' He rubbed his arm.

Harry looked sadly at Henry and pulled his wand from the concealed pocket in his shorts. Henry's eyes bulged in surprise.

'He didn't, Henry,' Harry said, performing a subtle Obliviation spell. 'He snatched Dragon from you, threw her at you and then he hit you on the arm.'

Henry's eyes glazed for a second, and then he nodded his agreement. A pit opened in Harry's stomach.

'You should go and say sorry to Al, Henry. I need to talk to James for a moment.' Harry kept James silent and watched Henry walk from the room.

'Oh, James...' Harry began. 'I'm so sorry.'

'You've made him forget, haven't you?' said James.

'Yes, James, I have. He thinks that what happened is what you heard me tell him,' said Harry.

'It's my fault,' James confessed. 'I was teasing Al about the stone, and then when we got Dragon he sort of…' James's voice tailed off.

'I saw what Al was doing, James. It was accidental magic, very powerful accidental magic. He lost his temper. Al will have to learn control, and so will you; and you'd better make up with each other, too.'

'Sorry, Daddy,' said James.

'We've all learned a lesson, James,' said Harry. 'I don't like to Obliviate people, especially little children. Even if it's only a little change from what really happened. If this happens again, James, you won't be allowed to have your friends around. Do you understand?'

James nodded and Harry took his hand and led him back to the living room.

* * *

><p>Ginny was stirring the hot chocolate when she heard Harry walk into the kitchen. He didn't speak. She heard the scuff of chair leg on stone-flagged floor and a sigh.<p>

'Are they settled, Harry?' she asked.

'Lily and Annie are asleep already, Al is settled and drifting. He insisted on having Dragon in bed with him, he hasn't done that for months.'

'He's a little unsettled, Harry,' said Ginny. 'That was quite a trick he pulled on James and Henry. How are they?'

'Chattering about what they'll do tomorrow morning instead of settling down. I left them to it. I don't want to tell them off, again.' Harry sighed.

'James and Henry have learned a lesson, Harry. They'll know not to mess with Al again. We know what happened, Al confirmed it. They'd been teasing him about getting stuck on the stone, and stealing Dragon was the final straw. The magic simply exploded out of him. Dragon was still twitching ten minutes later. It was accidental magic, that's all. Look on the bright side; at least we know that Al is magical. James did his first bit of accidental magic when he was three, and it's months since Lily rejuvenated the flowers she picked for me, remember? I was beginning to wonder about Al.' She placed a cup of hot chocolate in front of her husband. He ignored it. His elbows were resting on the table, his chin was cupped in his hands and he looked like someone had just broken his broom.

'I Obliviated a six-year-old, Ginny.'

'What else could you do?' she asked. 'We're happy here, the kids are happy here. They are settled at school and we've got some good Muggle friends. The choice was simple, Obliviate Henry, or move house and never see any of them again. You did a good job. You only modified a tiny bit of his memory. He remembers everything, apart from Al's magic.'

'But…'

'But we have to live by the Statute, you know that. You've Obliviated Muggles before,' she reminded him.

'Yes, but none of them were my six-year-old son's best friend, Ginny,' said Harry morosely. 'What will we tell Jacqui and Mike?'

Ginny gulped down the last of her hot chocolate and moved Harry's untouched mug from in front of him. She sat on the table, lifted one foot, and shuffled sideways. When she'd finished, Harry's elbows were between her legs. He still didn't move. So she leaned forward and kissed the top of his head.

'We'll tell them the story my clever husband planted in Henry's head. It's almost the truth. It isn't perfect, but it will have to do.' She pulled his head onto her chest.

'Sometimes there is no "good" alternative, Harry, just the least bad one, and the fact that you know that, and you're unhappy because of it is a good thing.'

She lifted his head from her chest and ran her fingers through his hair. Pushed his hair back from his forehead, she kissed his scar. He finally responded, slipping his arms around her waist.

'Is it bed time?' she asked.

'It could be, if that's what you want,' he said. 'But there's a perfectly good kitchen table here.'

He lowered her gently onto her back.


End file.
